TGIF Takes Next Week Off
 

UM is closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23-24, for Thanksgiving break. Students and faculty are off Wednesday, Nov. 22, as well. TGIF also will take a break, returning Dec. 1 with your weekly dose of UM news, events and information.

Happy Turkey Day!

UM Events Calendar 

 Griz Vie For Conference Title, Bragging Rights
 

It’s the ninth-oldest football rivalry in the nation among small colleges, and one of the most anticipated events of the year in Montana.

The 106th meeting of the Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats will be Saturday, Nov. 18, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Game time has been moved to 12:37 p.m. MST to accommodate ESPN’s coverage for UM-MSU satellite parties across the country.

No matter what kind of season either team is having, both the Griz and 'Cats play their best game of the year against each other. But this year promises to be a great grudge match. Both teams are nationally ranked -- Montana at No. 2 and MSU at No. 15. The Griz lead the Big Sky Conference 7-0, but the Bobcats are a close second at 6-1.

A lot more than bragging rights are at stake with Saturday’s game. If Montana -- winner of nine straight -- downs the Bobcats, the Grizzlies will win the Big Sky Conference title outright and earn the league’s automatic bid to the playoffs. With a Bobcat victory, the 'Cats will earn the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the playoffs, and both teams will share the regular-season championship.

Montanans can watch the game in the comfort of their own living rooms on Montana Television Network stations statewide. Game-day coverage begins at 11 a.m. on KPAX in Missoula, KAJ in Kalispell, KBZK in Bozeman, KXLF in Butte, KRTV in Great Falls, KXLH in Helena and KTVQ in Billings.

To find a satellite party near you, click the link below.

Griz-Cat Satellite Gatherings 

 Regents Meet At UM This Week
 

The Montana Board of Regents has been meeting on the UM campus since Wednesday. It’s tradition for the Regents to hold their fall meeting on whichever campus hosts the Griz-Cat game, which means the board is back in Missoula for the first time since November 2004.

The meeting runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon today in the University Center North Ballroom. Agenda highlights include a discussion of international student exchange programs led by UM President George Dennison, Montana State University Provost David Dooley and special guest William DeLauder, executive director of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program.

On Friday afternoon, Regents will tour Anderson Hall, the future home of the School of Journalism. The new building is under construction and scheduled for completion in mid-2007.

Montana Board of Regents 

 Moot Court Team Heads To National Finals
 

For an unprecedented ninth consecutive year, a UM moot court team will represent the UM School of Law in national competition.

The National Moot Court Competition, sponsored since 1950 by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American College of Trial Lawyers, will be held in New York City in January.

The law school’s nine-year streak of making it to the national finals of the competition is by far the longest in the nation. At the regional competitions, UM teams have finished first five times and second four times. The University most recently won the national championship in 2000.

Each year more than 1,000 students from 150 accredited law schools compete in 14 regions throughout the nation. The top two teams from each region advance to the national finals.

UM law students Megan Dishong of Helena, Isaac Kantor of Missoula and Brian Miller of Gulf Breeze, Fla., placed second in the Northwest regional competition, held in Boise, Idaho, Nov. 9-11. Miller also was named second-best oralist at the competition.

Rebecca Smith of Missoula, Dan Browder of Victor and Matt Cochenour of Bozeman also did well at the regional event, besting Gonzaga University but losing to the University of Washington.

The law students were accompanied by team coaches, UM assistant professors Larry Howell and Andrew King-Ries.

School of Law 

 Nationals Next For Negotiation Team, Too
 

UM law students advanced to the final round in the American Bar Association Negotiation Team Region 10 competition for the fourth time in as many years -- and once again are headed to the national finals.

Second-year law students Stephen Adamson of Manakin, Va., and Tara Keller of Sturgis, S.D., topped 20 teams from throughout the Northwest and Canada to win the regional competition held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 4-5, at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

The two overcame last year’s national competition winner, Seattle University, to take the final round of the competition.

Fellow negotiation team members Heather Sather of Billings, Thad Seegmiller of St. George, Utah, Charlie Cromwell of Missoula and Lindsay Hecht of Sioux City, Iowa, also represented UM’s law school at the regional event.

The national finals will be held in Miami in February.

School of Law 

 Institute Director Earns Prestigious Honor
 

Dr. Herbert Swick, executive director of Missoula’s Institute of Medicine and Humanities, has joined some elite company.

Swick was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society as a national honoree on Oct. 28 during the annual meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Seattle. Fewer than 20 individuals have ever been so honored.

The institute he directs is a joint project of UM and St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center. Established in 1987, IMH promotes learning and study in the humanities and how they shed light on how we care for our sick.

The Gold Humanism Honor Society works to elevate the values of humanism and professionalism within the field of medicine.

Besides directing IMH, Swick is an adjunct professor in UM’s Davidson Honors College and a clinical associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He also hosts the weekly Montana Public Radio broadcast "Collegium Medicum."

Institute of Medicine and Humanities 

 R-TV Professor Joins National Board
 

Assistant Professor Denise Dowling has been named to the Radio and Television News Directors Association board of directors.

She was selected to serve a one-year term on the national board by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Radio-Television Journalism Division.

Dowling joined UM’s radio-television department in 2000 after a 20-year career in broadcast journalism.

During her term on the board, she will represent broadcast journalism educators to help bridge the gap between the academy and the broadcast news profession.

Dowling also will work with news directors from around the country to produce panels for educators and professionals at the association’s national convention.

 

 Many Montana Children Live In Poverty
 

Montana has experienced four consecutive years of economic growth of 4 percent or more, yet 20 percent of the state’s children ages 0-17 live in households with income below the federal poverty level. That’s according to the 2006 Montana KIDS COUNT Data Book published by UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Those under 5 years of age -- 23 percent -- represent the largest share of children in poverty, the data book reports. There has been little change in these rates over the past five years, despite the fact that the state’s economy has improved.

Funded through the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Montana KIDS COUNT program is a statewide effort to identify the status and well-being of Montana children by collecting data about them and publishing an annual data book.

The 2006 data book and other information on the Montana KIDS COUNT program are available through BBER by calling 406-243-5113.

 

 Holidays Subject Of Town Hall Meeting
 

The UM MultiCultural Alliance has scheduled a Town Hall Meeting to give area residents an opportunity to learn about traditions of the many holidays celebrated in December.

“Traditionally Speaking: This December Has Many Holidays” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in University Center Rooms 332-333.

The event is the second in a 2006 fall semester series to foster community dialogue about issues of social justice.

The evening’s panelists hold leadership positions in religious groups on campus. They are: Naomi Alhadeff, president, Hillel, the Jewish student association; Ryan Fries, president, Muslim student association; John Lund, pastor, the Ark, Lutheran campus ministry; Kim May, president, POWERS, Pagan or Wiccan Education, Resources and Support.

Join them to learn about holidays such as Advent, Eid al-Adha, Chanukkah and Yule and to take part in community dialogue and share refreshments.

UM MultiCultural Alliance 

 Give An Engraved Brick This Holiday Season
 

What do you give a UM graduate or Griz fan who has everything?

A Centennial Circle Brick!

The custom-engraved bricks are located on the UM campus Oval surrounding the landmark grizzly bear statue. Centennial Circle was created in 1993 when the University celebrated its 100th birthday. The circle is paved with red bricks that can be engraved with names or personalized messages.

The bricks are a great way to give a lasting memento and a piece of UM history, as well as a gift that keeps on giving. Funds from the brick sales support special UM programs and projects.

Centennial Circle Bricks cost $150 each and are tax- deductible. They can be engraved with up to three lines of 14 characters per line. Bricks may be ordered throughout the year, but to receive a gift certificate for holiday giving or have a gift card sent to the recipient on your behalf, order by Wednesday, Dec. 13.

Centennial Circle Bricks 

 Even Bees Prefer The Griz
 

UM scientists have trained bees to detect land mines and pollution, but they haven’t stopped there. Now a new video released in time for Griz-Cat football week shows the flying insects can be trained to prefer the Griz over the Bobcats.

The video was produced by Bee Alert Technology Inc., a University spin-off company formed to market UM’s new bee-training science. The video shows a bee flying through a maze -- entering holes with a Griz logo and avoiding those with a Montana State University logo -- as the UM Fight Song plays.

Larry Tarver, a computer software engineer with Bee Alert, said the bees are trained to seek out a sugar solution. He said Scott Debnam, the company’s senior field research technician and resident "bee whisperer," trained them to seek the Griz and avoid the ’Cats in about two hours.

“In fact, of the 60,000 bees in one hive, only one went for the MSU sticker,” Tarver said. “We let that one go.”

While the training is amusing, he said, it has a practical application of helping researchers understand how bees use both visual cues and smell to find a reward.

Griz bees video on YouTube 

 Griz Fans, Show Your Colors
 

A “Maroon-Out” is being organized for Saturday’s Griz-Cat football game in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Griz fans are asked to wear their team’s primary color to the game, where organizers hope to greet both teams with a sea of maroon.

 

 Grizzlies Bounce The Bears
 

The Montana Grizzlies football team rushed for a season-high 289 yards to best Northern Colorado 53-21 Saturday in Greeley. With a season-best six sacks, the Griz exploded for 23 unanswered points in the third quarter.

Senior cornerback Tuff Harris returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown, giving him three in his career and tying Levander Segars for the school record. Junior wide receiver Craig Chambers had career bests of six catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

Griz defense held the Bears to seven second-half points and 18 yards rushing. Junior end Kroy Biermann had a team-high seven tackles and two and a half sacks.

This Saturday’s game between the second-ranked Grizzlies (9-1, overall/7-0 Big Sky) and the 15th-ranked Montana State University Bobcats (7-3/6-1) is “Senior Day” in the D.A. Davidson Big Sky Classic.

Montana Grizzlies 

 UM Wins At Home, Drops One On The Road
 

Junior forward Andrew Strait led Montana with 20 points en route to an 83-42 victory over MSU-Northern in the men’s basketball season opener last Friday in Missoula.

Montana struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 38 percent, but rebounded in the second half at 75 percent. Strait led all scorers with his game-high 20 points, shooting seven of 13 from the field with three rebounds.

On Monday night, Utah Valley State made nine of 13 three-pointers for a 74-57 win over the Grizzlies in Orem, Utah. Montana made just four of 18 attempts from behind the arc and dropped to 1-1 overall. UM was again led offensively by Strait, who scored a team-high 16 points on six of 11 shooting from the field. Strait also registered team-highs with 11 rebounds and five blocks.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Lady Griz Win Opener, Host Pet Food Drive
 

The Lady Griz soared to an 89-45 victory over the MSU-Billings Yellowjackets last Sunday in the UM women’s basketball season opener. With five players in double figures, Montana held MSU-B to 23.1 percent shooting in UM’s Dahlberg Arena.

Montana jumped out to a 51-24 halftime lead and held MSU-B to 19.2 percent shooting in the second half. Sophomore Mandy Morales finished with a game-high 17 points, 14 of those coming in the first half. She hit six of eight shots -- two of three from 3-point range -- and added three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

The Lady Griz conclude their season-opening, two-game home stand this Sunday, when they host Gonzaga at 2 p.m.

Help feed homeless cats and dogs by bringing pet food to the game. AniMeals will collect donations of canned and dry pet food at the game as part of its holiday drive.

Montana Grizzlies 

 Griz Spikers At Tournament
 

Montana Volleyball made its first trip to the Big Sky Conference tournament since the 2000 season this week.

UM faced Northern Colorado in a quarterfinal match last night in Sacramento, Calif., after earning the No. 4 seed in this year's tournament. Montana went 9-7 in league play, 12-14 overall.

The winner of last night’s match plays either Portland State or Sacramento State in a semifinal match today.

Montana Grizzlies